Monday, December 22, 2008

this weekendmy very dear friend erin married her true love bill.the wedding was beautiful ... just beautiful

and on sunday night i had my annualchristmas party, a small but magical gathering this year.

there's a quote i love that says:

life is not measured in the number of breaths you takebut in the number of moments that take your breath away

and this weekendthe joy and love and friendshipthat surrounded me was nothing short of inspiring...

and it was a timely reminderthat despite the parts of life that are hard to carry through each daythe beautiful moments and the people that surround you(those near and those far)are to be treasured and never to be taken for granted...

Sunday, December 21, 2008

this ornament is by my talented and very dear friendrebecca ryan...bec and her partner timmake the most magical thingsfrom clay to soap to things made of cloth...clay paper cloththeir businesshas stalls at the bangalow and other markets around the gold coast and northern nsw...

bec and i share a birthday, literally,same day, same year, born in the same cityjust on opposite sides of the river...she has a spring palette to her work and i autumn,bec is a constant inspirationboth artistically and how she lives her life...i am lucky to call her friend...

Friday, December 19, 2008

my dear friend roxanneand i exchange an ornament every yearand even if weeks (and indeed months, seemingly years) pass with not much catch up our special friendship remains,as does our tradition...

my ornament arrived today wrapped ever so beautifullywith a piece of jade plant as decoration... the parcel was good enough to hang on the tree ...

i know how much roxy loves reading all the inspiringblogs out there so this is a thank-you to herand all those other readers who (although i don't have a commentscomponent to mine) tell me through email and lettershow they read and find inspiration amongst my(and others) ramblings...

Monday, December 15, 2008

the courier-mail and he would bring home off cuts of paper - so during my childhood we always hada never-ending supply (it seemed) to write and draw on...

i remember very clearly one day when i was very young my mum telling me how lucky i was to have paper to draw on,because when she was a little girl (growing up in a remote bush townjust after the second world war)they would soak off the jam labels from tins anduse the paper the bread came wrapped in as their writing and drawing paper...

this has always stayed with me,both in the realisation of the fortunate life i have lead(especially in terms of materials and freedom for making art) and also in our use and re-use of materials and the consequences for our dear earth.

this story leads me to the image above...every year my mum and dad would give each of us kids an ornament.when i left home i took with me a beautiful and eclectic collectionthat still decorate my tree to this day...every year they still give us one, and now i give them one too.and it is this sense of memory, love, and history that is the ethos in the ornament-making part of my business...

last year mum gave me the ornament above, a match box, covered in discarded wrapping paper and ribbonwith an unwound paper clip as the hanger...she said she gave it to me so i would never forget that the beautiful can be made in timesof leanness, or struggle (or sadness).that beauty can be made out of the recycled and cast aside... and also, that we should never forget how lucky we are.

it is one of my most favourite ornaments nowbecause of its meaning... and because it reminds me that i am never to old to learn a lesson(even if i think i know it already...)

over the next week i will show you other special ornamentsin my collection, but i thought this a nice way to start.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

this week i bought a painting that has words on it... beautiful sad wordsand above is a piece of worki have as part of my ceramic collection in my home...it is by english ceramic artist cj o'neillthe words cut out around the plate read:

today there is no wind to hold me back

as i write new poetry, collect art works,read books, watch films,listen to music...i am aware more and more of the power of words...how they can enrich, and also,how they can tug at your heart...this isn't anything new (of course !), no revolutionary thought...

but this time of year, and at this point in time,i think it so important not just think it,but to say, to writewords to those we hold dear...

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

one of the nicest things about being in a marketis being able to see & purchase work by other artists...above is 2 great little pieces i bought from brisbane potter ky curranon the weekend at the GoMA markets...i bought a few other bits and pieces from ky & other stall holdersbut some of them will be christmas presents so they can't be revealed .

despite the hot day brisbane decided to give us (and i mean hot)the market was a successful day & there were lots of crowds to support locally made & designed work.

it was a lovely chance to step out into the world& meet the people who buy my work...

one lady commented to me that she had beencollecting & following my work since i first started making my inky poem collage cards 12 years ago !!this sort of feedback makes all the hard work worth it...especially when the year is winding up and i am so tired & emotional from exhaustion & other parts of life that crowd my heart.

thank you to all those other creative souls who shared saturday's market... you are all so inspiring

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

we both use text in our work:mel with recipes, letters and other forms of handwriting(of which she says she is obsessed... really obsessed)& me on vessels with my own poetry,and on quote tags with quotes by some of historiesgreatest thinkers, writers and artists...

at the moment my poetry vessels are low on stock insome stores that stock themthis is due to sales of the work(which i am grateful for)and also due to the amount of work i am able to producemy apology's for this.

this saturday i will have a small collection of poetry vessels at the GoMA markets(as mentioned in the previous post)

and the remainder of these after the market will be sent to the gallery store at the queensland art galleryand coming up roses at balmoral...

my name is kylie johnsoni am an australian artist...designer... potter... poet...something or other....this space is for imagesand rambling words about . . . my business -PAPER BOAT PRESSthe ceramics i create poetry i writethe things i make

here i share news of my work,the studio i work in,the people i share my days with,and of those who inspire me here and there . . .

they can be purchased at book stores around australia,inmy online store,and in the USA atanthropologiefor personal reasons i have not added comments to this blog, but feel free to email. i receive a lot of emails at present so please be patient, i will respond as soon as i can